Senescence (Jezebel's Ladder Book 5)

by Scott Rhine

  “The mayor signed your civil license when he showed up with his family,” Evangeline continued.

  On the way in with the bouquet, Kaguya asked, “How did you finagle the mayor’s help?”

  “Uncle Kieran,” Laura explained.

  “Is that why he’s in the best man’s position up front?”

  “Mo and Hans both said no to the honor before he arrived,” Evangeline whispered. “They both have too much to do tonight. No other men were available.”

  Laura cleared her throat and indicated the recording drone.

  “Oops. I helped test the champagne,” Evangeline admitted.

  The time until the ceremony passed in a blur.

  Laura followed the prompts in her earbud. Stu looked as nervous as if this were all real. Several times during the vows, he lost his way, staring into her face.

  Stu placed his father’s RAF flight-school ring on her finger. “This was my mother’s wedding ring.”

  Laura had never wanted to kiss anyone this badly in her life. The bishop got as far as, “You may—” before Stu leaned over awkwardly. He had difficultly tilting his head to avoid bumping noses, so she guided him with her hands wrapped on the back of his neck.

  The kiss was warm and soft. Stu whimpered near the beginning, but she could feel his hunger building the longer the kiss lasted. Eventually, Hans whispered in her earbud, “We’re three minutes over. Save some for the honeymoon.”

  Reluctantly, she broke off the embrace.

  ****

  While Stu signed the marriage license and paid the stack of bills, Laura’s mother gave her a key card and the first congratulatory hug. “I commandeered this from Fiona as soon as I heard. Now you are the sole woman with access to Stewart’s bedroom.”

  “This is all so sudden. What do I do?” Laura asked.

  “Every couple negotiates their own balance. Find out what he wants in a wife and be that. Then tell him what you expect in return,” Kaguya advised. “Call me first thing in the morning.”

  The others guests lined the sidewalk. Stu led her directly to the embassy before pumpkin time. The couple shook a few hands but didn’t have time to pose for pictures.

  “Tomorrow evening we’ll have a reception,” Laura promised.

  “The night after,” Kaguya corrected. “A lot of people want to come, especially for the gifts.”

  Laura rode the elevator up to the embassy floor with Stu, two guards, and a technician. “So, Mr. Llewellyn, how would you define a good wife?”

  “A bit late for that, isn’t it?” Stu chuckled.

  “I’m serious. Whether we planned this marriage or not, I want to succeed. I never give less than my all.”

  He considered this until they reached the embassy floor. “Talking with my dad, the main theme would be partnership. The best couples I’ve seen work together selflessly. If your boat is sinking, you can’t point at one person and say, ‘That’s your hole.’ You fix it together.”

  She smiled. “Partners, then. I’ll start on your recruiting program first thing in the morning.”

  The couple had to wait for the technician to sweep for bugs. Several interests had taken advantage of their absence to plant listening devices.

  Laura crossed her arms to keep warm and was gratified to see Stu staring at her in admiration. “My ideal husband would never separate me from my mother, choose money over me, or abandon me.”

  “That’s a pretty low bar.” He draped his rented tuxedo jacket over her for warmth.

  “You’d be surprised.”

  The group shuffled into the living room of the embassy while the tech performed one last sweep.

  Laura said, “So, Mr. Llewellyn, as hero of the night would you like to open your reward? There’s a quick-release snap on the back of this outfit. The whole thing falls to the floor like a negligee.”

  The blood drained from Stu’s face. He was saved having to respond by the loud squeal of the bug detector over a nearby lamp. The tech snatched the entire lamp. Apologizing, he departed rapidly. The local guard team stepped outside the door as well.

  Laura removed her tiara and placed it on the coffee table. If they ended up on the bed soon, she wanted to protect her crown. “We’ve convinced everyone else the marriage is real. What would it take to convince you?”

  “I can’t—not until we reach Sanctuary.” His voice cracked with the strain. She could tell his body wanted to. If she popped the dress release, he would crumble. If she forced him, though, he might have regrets.

  “I won’t tell,” she said, pressing against him suggestively. “I’m very grateful.”

  He backed away, tripping onto the sofa. “Please. You might change your mind when you hear everything. I don’t want you to think I took advantage of you. I don’t want you to hate me.”

  “Never.” She knelt and gazed adoringly into his eyes. “Tell me your secrets. I’ve shared everything with you.”

  “Some secrets aren’t mine to share. If you still want me after your tour of the ship, I’d be proud to carry you over the threshold of our farmhouse.”

  “Is it the fact that you could live so long?”

  “What?”

  “My techs estimate two-hundred fifty years. If we bond, you’re probably afraid that I’ll die after fifty and take you with me,” she whispered.

  He wrinkled his brow.

  Laura sat beside him on the sofa. “Nobody told you?” I didn’t think I’d spend my wedding night teaching these particular facts of life. She explained telomeres and cell repair in layman’s terms. “Don’t be afraid. I’m a genius genetic engineer, and Mom is a world expert on pair-bonding. We’ll figure out some way to keep you alive.”

  “Smart and beautiful,” Stu said, eyes roving over her body as if he wanted to memorize every inch. “None of those other girls shine like you.”

  She took off the tuxedo jacket to give him more opportunity to observe. The moment she did, he noticed the bruise on her arm. “From the taxi hitting me,” she explained. “You know, if our date hadn’t been interrupted, we’d be kissing now.”

  He kissed her damaged spot chastely.

  Laura wiped the makeup off her cheek to show him the slight discoloration there.

  Licking his lips, Stu kissed her cheek with equal tenderness. His eyes carried more hunger, though. She responded with passionate kisses on his scars. This poured gasoline on his already raging campfire. They devoured one another for a delightful time, neither speaking other than soft encouragement. She drank from his pleasure like that bottle he had offered in Cairo.

  The dress crept up steadily, with a mind of its own. Bad, bad dress.

  Stu touched her bare behind by accident. He pushed back, panting, onto the large, square coffee table, crushing the peak of her tiara.

  She made up her mind right then. Inside, he’s still thirteen, but a chance at a farmhouse with him feels better than being a queen in Tokyo.

  Picking up the bent tiara, he said, “I’m so sorry. What can I do to make this up to you?”

  Hopping onto his still-clothed lap, Laura nuzzled his neck. “What boyfriends and girlfriends do.” The wooden table collapsed, rolling them onto the floor. She whooped, and they both laughed. He let her shift to be on top. She sat up and began wiggling to adjust the top of her outfit back into place.

  “Don’t. Careful,” he begged, biting his lip.

  “Oh …” she said, realizing that any contact below was pushing him dangerously close, despite the layer of clothing between them.

  Even if you don’t stay with me, I want this night etched in your dreams. “There’s one bruise you haven’t kissed yet.” She raised the hem of her dress ever so slightly to reveal the discoloration on her hip … and the fact that she wore no underwear.

  Eyes wide in shock, he drew a ragged breath. “I can’t. Please.”

  Laura held him in place, limbs tangled around him. “This is our wedding night. I want it to be memorable.”

  “What can I give you instead?
”

  He would do anything for her. What did she want? She could get a sample any time she cared to. Instead, she asked for something she had never experienced. “Share the bed with me tonight.”

  “The marriage was to keep you safe from prison and a lobotomy. You don’t have to—”

  “You can keep pajamas on, but I’m your partner. Where you go, I go.”

  Chapter 32 – Eowyn

  Stu waited for a limo at the university front gate. He was telling everyone how lucky he was to have married Laura. “I never thought just holding someone would feel that great.”

  Mo said, “I’ve heard that Japanese women know how to treat a man like a king.”

  “It’s more than that,” Stu replied. “She woke up early just to start work on our recruiting project. She ordered me breakfast and then warmed my shower and towel. She’s everywhere at once, three steps ahead, just like her mother.”

  Without warning, Kaguya tapped Stu on the shoulder. His face went rigid when he recognized her. She pulled him aside, and he immediately apologized. “It was a slip. It’ll never happen again.” He couldn’t meet her eyes.

  “You know her secret?”

  “I grew up on Sanctuary. How could I not? The Zeisses helped raise me after my mom and dad … passed on,” Stu whispered. “Laura tried to pry it out of me, but I didn’t tell. I wouldn’t hurt her like that.”

  “Just like you said there would be no sex?” Kaguya said.

  “There wasn’t. Who—?”

  “The whole campus is talking about the noises, the broken furniture, and the tiara you demolished by banging into the headboard.”

  He looked down, ashamed. So much for discrete guards and maids. At least people will believe the marriage was consummated. “She wanted to kiss. It got a little out of control. I take full responsibility.”

  Kaguya drew him close into a hug.

  “Don’t kill me,” he begged.

  She smiled. “A healthy respect for your mother-in-law is a good thing.” She regarded him for a moment. “Do you love Laura?”

  “God, yes.” He closed his eyes. “Other guys have just used her so much for her talents and her body. I don’t want to be like that. I’m trying to do the right thing … get her to slow down so we can build something that lasts. It’s just so hard when I have to fight everyone, including her.”

  “Let me take some of the weight then,” Kaguya offered.

  “Pardon?”

  “What could possibly be important enough to drag you away from your bride on your honeymoon?”

  “I’m interviewing construction companies. Oleander says that the security in the embassy is a joke. We need better electronic systems, thicker doors, and (cough) sound-insulated walls.”

  “Delegate that to me. As my family, your safety is my concern. I know how to deal with contractors and tell who is lying. More to the point, no one will shoot at me.”

  Stu took a deep breath. “Two points. First, is this safe with your condition?”

  “Sweet boy. I have medication, and as long as I have Laura to look forward to on my return, I’ll be fine. Second?”

  Fortunately, nearly every woman he knew could kill him if angered, so he had practice with diplomacy. “The Zeisses warned me not to trust any Moris.”

  “Laura and Conrad are the only people in this universe who matter to me. As long as you continue to make her skip like a school girl, I won’t allow a hair on your head to be harmed.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  Kaguya snorted. “The bounty on your blood sample went up to 250 million today. Do you know how poor this country is? If you show your face in public, my daughter becomes a widow. I won’t allow that. Oleander has my early wedding gift for you in the interrogation room, proof that you can trust me.” She whispered, “Go talk to CEO Hollis about why she had to miss your wedding.”

  My aunt’s here! Grinning, Stu said, “How can I ever thank you?”

  “Get your tight butt back inside, and let an old woman take the risks.”

  “You’re not old,” Stu corrected, “and I won’t let you travel anywhere without Mo. If you came back with so much as a splinter, my wife would take it out of my hide.”

  Kaguya kissed him on the forehead. “You’re such a gentleman. I told them you’d insist.”

  ****

  Luca Maurier stood guard in front of the interrogation observation room in the campus police headquarters. Both corporate and campus security guarded the hall. “Ambassador, can I talk you out of the having the entire school attend the reception?”

  Stu shook his head. “We need to spot the talents. It’s the easiest way.” Lowering his voice as he shook the man’s hand, Stu added, “I also need to present a unified front showing support for my wife. Someone posted footage of her scratching herself in Cairo and implied she had crabs. The sound track was ‘Lie Down with Dogs, Get Up with Fleas.’” Probably Freya, but I’ll deal with that later. I need a way to bolster Laura in public.

  “Ouch,” Luca said. “You do need to develop a working relationship with the folks in Rio. If you stick around, Ms. Hollis is going to put you in charge of the trust.”

  “How?”

  “The last wish your mother transmitted was that a member of the Llewellyn family be on the board.”

  Stu considered this for a moment. “I wouldn’t have time. Could I appoint Laura?”

  The head of security shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Ask the Golden Goose inside. She’s not used to waiting.”

  “Thanks.” Stu stepped into the office.

  His Aunt Mary, a.k.a. Mira Hollis, greeted him with a hug. “Did you tell Laura about my other identity yet?”

  “The real Mira wanted to be the one to break the news to her.”

  Mary nodded. “You kids are a good match, corporate royalty. If you stay, and I hope you do, you can both take over my role as head of the empire.”

  He opened his mouth, but no words came.

  “I understand,” she said. “Nobody volunteers to work seventy hours a week on a job where the whole world criticizes or tries to kill you. You’re both in my will. For now, enjoy your bride and some quiet time together.”

  “Kaguya said she had a gift for me in here?”

  Mary gestured toward the wall screens. Instead of a two-way mirror, the interrogation room had a dozen cameras, infrared sensors, pulse monitors, and voice-stress analyzers. All were focused on an Asian woman cuffed to the table. “We found Eowyn for you.”

  “Fantastic. How did you track her down?”

  “Easy. She came to us … on the same flight as her sister, Kelly Quinn.”

  “That’s Mo’s fiancée. I told him he could invite her. There has to be a mix-up.”

  “We started the investigation because Kelly was suspected of selling knockoffs to foreign governments, but there were no bank records, just a few unexplained biosample containers.” Stu knew the genetic slang. Since the non-Ethics Pages had gone blank at Sanctuary’s departure, no one could read the Override Page anymore. Therefore, foreign governments paid attractive women to collect sperm from existing talents in order to breed the next generation of soldiers. Governments had borrowed the fashion term because the Chinese were suspected of mass-producing copies of decorated soldiers.

  Stu fumbled for an explanation. “Kelly tracks diseases for a living. Maybe it was related to her job.”

  “The street value of those samples was more than she makes in a year. He calls her every night, but she hasn’t contacted him once.”

  “He’s in love.”

  “I didn’t believe she was an agent until Kaguya showed me the ticket and hotel reservations that her handler, Eowyn, had reserved under an alias.”

  Wheels turned in Stu’s head. “Mo was working for her?”

  “Whether intentional or not, he’s been passing information to Eowyn. Weeks ago, she pulled strings to get a junior officer like him assigned to your case.”

  “You rigged it so Kaguya
would accompany him. Is she going to kill Mo?” He had trouble breathing. Up until now, the whole mission had been a lark, another manga adventure.

  “Kaguya is one of the few people qualified to take out an Override talent, but that depends on how the interrogation goes.”

  “Why is she cuffed to the table?”

  “For your safety. The prisoner refuses to talk to anyone but you. Check out her dossier.” Aunt Mary handed him a sheet of smart paper.

  Eowyn’s real name was Eleanor Quinn, a resident of Hawaii. Her British ancestors had migrated from Hong Kong after the island returned to Chinese possession. He couldn’t tell if her long, black hair came from Hawaiian or Asian influences. She wore glasses to read, the sole indicator of being in her late thirties. However, she could qualify on the gun range without them. She also spoke at least four languages. Her father was a detective and her mother a psychologist with Empathy. Although Eleanor hadn’t inherited the family talent like her sister, her high test scores in school had earned her the opportunity to read the Mind-Machine Interface page before it vanished. If Stu had to choose one adjective to sum her up, it would be capable. Beneath the UN cybercrime investigative services, Eleanor’s résumé listed the Atomic Energy Commission. She had worked as an inspector for space-bound devices. Impressive. “That’s how she put in the Trojan onto the radio telescope. Who does she work for: Irish, British, Chinese, or US intelligence?”

  “Keep reading,” said Mary.

  Eowyn’s first job had been as a coder for Mori Electronics, which still paid her an annual stipend in exchange for keeping an airtight confidentiality agreement. “Oh, shit.”

  ****

  Stu walked into the interrogation room with an earbud. Oleander, Mary, Luca, and a few others kibitzed on the other end. He tried to ignore them and turned on the charm. “Ms. Quinn, I hear you came for a vacation with your younger sister and wanted a word with me.”

  Eowyn glared at him. “Was your marriage to Salome business or pleasure?”

  “I’m asking the questions here,” Stu replied.

  “Not until I can trust you.”

  Stu sat down beside her. “That ship sailed when they sent a killer to babysit Mo. If you don’t spill everything before he’s scheduled back, they’re going eliminate him just to be safe.”